Hendrix, Harrison, Clapton, Cocker, Russell, Wonder, Winwood, Jacko: Who is the Common Denominator?

In the many intriguing Venn Diagrams of rock and roll, perhaps the most intriguing is the answer to the title of this article. The guy who overlaps that list of venerable musicians is Dave Mason. I had a chance to chat with him before a recent show (he is in the middle of a brief American tour, with dates remaining in California and Florida).

“I always tried to retain a quality of timelessness of themes in my music. Rather than bending to trends, I wanted to stay true to my style,” said Mason. The current “Alone Together Again” tour reflects that sentiment. He is playing his debut solo album “Alone Together” front to back. Much like a director’s commentary to accompany a classic album, Mason paused on stage between songs to provide some context. The album came out in January 1970, when he was 23 years old. It had a slew of wonderful musicians on the album (Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell, Jim Capaldi, Rita Coolidge, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon). Several of the musicians went on to form the core of Eric Clapton’s stellar Derek and the Dominos lineup (whence emerged “Layla” and other astounding tracks).

Mason’s live performance revealed that neither his fretwork prowess nor his vocal command are showing signs of age. Switching among an array of guitars, he was in full command. Backed by a well-oiled trio of Johnne Sambataro (guitar, vocals), Tony Patler (keyboards, vocals) and Alvino Bennett (drums), the quartet delivered a solid performance.

Throughout the evening, Mason continued to some commentary to his songs. He pointed out how great it was that Joe Cocker took Mason’s “Feeling Alright?” up the charts, and it is still being used in film and ads today. “A bank is paying me money to use the song in their ad, and I did not have to take out a loan for the bank to pay me money.”

Later in the set, Mason played several songs from his days as co-founder of Traffic. Mason also assayed several Steve Winwood songs in what the former referred to as Traffic AD – after Dave.

But in my chat with Mason, I was curious to know how he was so often in the mix at the right moment. I was curious how he came to perform on George Harrison’s stellar solo debut “All Things Must Pass.”

Mason explained, “I knew George and spent time with him, he gave me a sitar when I started using it. He and I first heard ‘Sgt Pepper’ sitting with him at his house when he received the first pressing of the album. So when he was doing his solo album, I was around. I don’t recall if I was on the jam of the third disc. I played lots of rhythm acoustic guitar.”

“I also spent a lot of time with Hendrix and recorded with him, not exactly sure what happened with those tracks. I am singing on ‘Crosstown Traffic’ and I am on his version ‘All Along the Watchtower.’ We sat together and learned that song when it first came out on Dylan’s album. The audience won’t let me leave the stage unless I play that song.” That is a bit of an understatement; Mason’s version remains incendiary. On stage, he introduced it as being written by the Picasso of songwriters.

Over the course of his career, Mason recorded with Michael Jackson and for a time was a member of Fleetwood Mac. I asked Mason to reflect on the massive changes he has ridden as the music business has evolved over the last several decades. Like many artists of his age, he laments the destructive influence of the internet on intellectual property. “My parents owned a candy store, it was the worst business ever because everyone was selling candy. Today it is the same for music, everyone is giving it away. As a songwriter, it seems there is no way to survive, everyone is just stealing the music. Meanwhile, Pandora and others are on the New York Stock Exchange worth billions. Acts are getting a million plays of a song and then getting a check for $250, it’s not right. Plus we have the death of radio. Terrestrial radio is important for discovering music, but today there is no format and no DJ, the stations just keep regurgitating the same stuff.”

“I see no reason to say no to the idea, it would be down to the whim of the listener. The younger culture has a notion that music is free. How do we change that cultural antithesis? It is hard to put genie back in bottle,” lamented Mason.

I asked him about a song he has recorded several times. “I have not done ‘Every Woman’ live in a long time. It is my fastest song…it was written in two hours, about an imaginary woman.”

We wrapped up our chat and he said, “Touring is something I have always done. I am like the Tupperware man, knocking on your door. I’ll be back.”

I have worked at several global companies (HP, Qualcomm, Philips, Disney) in senior business affairs and business development positions. I helped launch many new technologies that depended on traditional media content, requiring me to negotiate deals with Hollywood studios, ...